So, how was it for you? There is something strange about the spirit of New Year's Eve. The crowds, the shouting, the impossibility of getting home - it's like the Dunkirk spirit all over again, only for fun. And then there are the demons. The party demons, that is: the ones who lodge in your head and persuade you, against your better judgment, that since you're going on a Night Out, it's a really sound idea to leave good taste at home and adopt a style so gaudy, it would make an Atomic Kitten look like Audrey Hepburn.

You've been there. Oh, admit it - we all have. And afterwards, in the cold light of a January day, you will see the photographs and think, what on earth could have got into me? In the heat of the moment, one is surprisingly vulnerable to the voices in one's head insisting that, instead of wearing that glittery top with jeans, or that miniskirt with a black vest, you should wear the miniskirt with the glittery top because it will be fun!

Ignore them. Imagine yourself The Lord Of The Rings' Gollum (only with better skin, hopefully) and do the right thing. Wearing an over-the-top outfit because you think it makes you look fun is like wearing a slogan T-shirt that says "Gorgeous" - truly, my friends, if your outfit needs to spell it out, you ain't it.

This is not about wearing jeans in order to show that you are cooler than everyone else. That is for 14-year-olds. There is a certain logic in taking whatever chances you get to wear your shortest, most va-va-voom party dress, and far be it from me to discourage dressing up. But you don't need to dress like the Christmas fairy, and certainly not like the Christmas tree. But then, hindsight makes sages of us all.